The Quail's Tale
by littlemoosie
Summary: "My name is Quail." Those were the four words that started the new life of a normal cat. Or was she normal? Just two moons earlier, the most famous Thunderclan leader in history named Quailstar lost her final life, and when a young kit that not only looked identical to her but called herself Quail entered the clan one stormy day, all of the clans slowly began to change forever.
1. Prologue

**Hi there! My name is Moosie, and I would love to be the first to welcome you to my first fanfiction! I'm doing this because I love the Warriors series and just for fun! Hopefully you will have as much fun reading as I do writing. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments feel free to comment or PM me! I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

**ALSO, it is strongly encouraged that you read the prologue. It will help clear up confusion later on.**

**Enjoy!**

Prologue

It was that time of night again. The sky was pitch black and the only source of light illuminating the ground was the bright moon from above. The leader of Thunderclan stepped out of her den cautiously, only glancing around for a moment to make sure no other pesky cat was out and about at these hours before trotting out of the camp and into the familiar forest that she knew so well.

This "sneaking out of camp" situation had certainly not been going on long – only for about a week now, but the she-cat had already grown used to it. Escaping for a little while would give her time to think. Tonight was a night that she had more to think about than usual, however.

Silently making her way through the brambles and bushes stuck in her way, she soon found her spot: right in front of the small pond. Before sitting down, she looked around one more time to make sure that no cat had decided to be sneaky and run after her. After a couple of seconds of seeing and hearing nothing unusual, she turned around and simply stared at her reflection in the water.

That was nice. Sitting there without a worry or a care at all. It was eerily silent.

"HEY! I know you're there. Don't you dare move a pawstep."

A voice suddenly came not from far off, and it took a lot of courage for the leader not to jump in surprise. She had been found, despite making sure that nobody was around her before she came. A smirk grew on her face as she heard the familiarity of it. Obviously this mousebrain had no idea that it was her sitting there in the moonlight. If he did, why in Starclan would he talk to her like that? She chose not to respond to her clanmate and instead wait for him to come to her.

But she heard nothing. She waited for quite a while to hear his pawsteps approaching her. The night had once again turned silent. The second that thought came to her mind, however, she felt a warm breath on the back of her pelt.

"Quailstar." He breathed.

Quailstar didn't flinch. Her expression didn't change. Her eyes were still fixed on her reflection in the puddle. Then from the corner of them she could see the tom. Once again, she did not speak. She wasn't much of a talker, but had no doubt that her clanmate would continue for her. Sure enough, he did.

"You can't fool me," he continued, "and WHY in Starclan do you think that you DO this?"

As he spoke, his voice rose. It was apparent that he had been watching the leader sneak off like this at night but had only now decided to speak up about it. Quailstar still said nothing.

"You might be able to hide and fool everyone else like this, but you can absolutely not fool me. Why, Quailstar? Why do you do it? I have spent countless nights awake thinking about what could be the answer even before you started sneaking out of camp like this. And when I saw you do it that first time, it made the answer to my question even more complicated."

The tom paused for a moment. He looked over to his leader as if he were waiting for her to respond, but she just let him continue.

"Quailstar… Don't you remember when we were kits? We were best friends. Nothing could separate us. Don't you remember when we were apprentices? We never left each other's side. Goodness, Quailstar, don't you remember when you were even a WARRIOR? Everyone always thought of you as the nicest cat in this whole clan. You were sociable, you had dozens of friends, you were hilarious…"

He sighed.

"What happened? Why did you change, Quailstar?"

Then there was silence. The she-cat hated to admit it, but he was right. And she didn't know the answer to his questions. But she knew that she couldn't ignore her clanmate anymore. He wasn't letting her. So she sighed too, and then replied in as simplified of a way as she could.

"Everyone changes, Shortstare."

It was all she could manage to say. It was awkward talking to her old best friend again. It didn't feel right. Yet, he still came back with a reply.

"But you haven't just changed. You've become a whole different cat. You don't even acknowledge me anymore. You barely acknowledge anyone unless you have to. All you do is sit in your den all day. That isn't a leader's job. You could care less about this clan!" He meowed, disappointed.

"That's not true." Quailstar quickly lashed back.

"Then prove it, Quailstar! You know what's sad? Nobody knows that you have this other side to you. Nobody in this clan except for the ones who grew up with you know that you used to be different. I know that you still have it in you. What happened? Why did you change so much?" Shortstare hissed back, becoming upset.

It took Quailstar a moment to find the right words for a reply. She may not have been able to prove to the clan that she cared, but she could at least prove it to Shortstare.

So after some thought, the she-cat turned her head and looked Shortstare right in the eyes. That wasn't something that she had done in a good ten moons to anyone. He looked shocked at first, but then stared back into hers. And Quailstar wanted to make sure that he knew how serious she was being before she spoke.

"Shortstare. There is a lot that you do not know about yourself. There is a lot that you do not know about this clan. But most importantly, there is a lot that you do not know about me. I didn't just change myself because I suddenly felt like it one day! I didn't just start blocking everybody out because I didn't want to be loved anymore! I didn't start hiding in my den everyday because I didn't care! I did it because I was SCARED, Shortstare. I am just like any other cat! I have feelings and emotions!

And when Starclan chose me as the Thunderclan leader, I had no idea what to do! I didn't want the responsibility of making everyone happy and keeping everyone alive! Because if something happened, who would get blamed? ME! Who would get punished? ME! Who would get hated forever? ME! I never WANTED to be leader. I just wanted a normal life. That… That was my only wish that I have ever made in my life. And it never came true."

Then for what seemed like the millionth time, there was silence again. Quailstar looked away without thinking, but Shortstare's gaze was still on her.

"I knew you hadn't changed. That's the Quailstar I know."

He finally found the courage to meow, and Quailstar quickly became confused at his words. The last she remembered, he had been wondering why she HAD changed.

"Yet, you have chosen to hide it from the rest of the clan…" He added, looking just as confused as Quailstar felt.

"Well, no cat can ever trust every other. Especially if their name starts with Quail." The she-cat replied with a smile. She could hear Shortstare laugh.

"That's about right." He meowed back, and with that last comment it was time to depart back home as dawn slowly came and the sun peeked through the trees at the two happy cats.

**Yay! This is so much fun to write already. Hopefully you're enjoying. There is much more to come**

**~ Moosie**


	2. Chapter 1 - Quailstar

**Hello everyone! Before I say anything else, I would like to think everyone that has viewed or gave any sort of feedback on this story so far. Even though I've only written the prologue, it feels so great to know that people are reading this and like it. I'm definitely going to keep going, but make sure to keep letting me know what feedback you have! Here is chapter one for you! Enjoy!**

Chapter One – Quailstar.

Two Moons Later

Leaf-bare was finally upon Thunderclan. After seasons of warmth and sunbathing, it was about time for the cold to start kicking in. For a bit the cats could deal with the rain, snow, and freezing temperatures looming over them, but before long it got unbearable and instead of sunbathing outside, every cat would be cuddling up in their nests. This seemed the ideal time for seasons to change, however, because Thunderclan had been changing in more ways than just seasons since Quailstar lost her last life a couple of moons ago. It may have been a couple moons ago, but the leader's death had every cat meowing.

Although no cat had ever been very fond of the old leader, Quailstar's death seemed to change the whole clan. Some cats grieved for her, while others weren't too sure how to react. No matter what they did, though, all of them knew that Thunderclan wouldn't be the same without her, despite how she treated them.

Because a cat by the name of Brindlefoot had been Quailstar's deputy of choice, although it wasn't much of a choice and just more of a random selection, it was his job to step up to the leader position to run the clan. Of course, Brindlefoot never was interested in being a leader, much less a deputy, so when the opportunity for him to receive "star" at the end of his name came up he wasn't very interested but was forced to take though Brindlestar, as he is now called, never had his heart set on becoming the leader of Thunderclan, he made sure to make a promise to every cat that he would not treat the position as Quailstar had and would treat the clan in the best way that he could. At only twenty-five moons of age he was still very young as well, which only meant that he would be around for a while.

As for the other cats, Brindlestar chose Yellowdust, a young little she-cat, to take the position of deputy. As time passed, the other warriors became used to these new changes, but it was apparent that the days of living with Quailstar as a leader were gone, and somehow this was saddening. Quailstar had led the clan for over twenty moons. No matter how she had ever treated them, there was no doubting the fact that it was at least a bit depressing to not see her around anymore. Shortstare was especially having a hard time, despite how she treated him.

On the topic of Shortstare, this incredibly cold and rainy day was the perfect one for him to sit in his nest and think about the leader and what she had done. When he was younger, Shortstare used to be best friends with the she-cat. Yet, he never got the real answer as to why she started blocking him and the rest of the clan out. He knew he should have been harsher with her, because she certainly wasn't being the nicest to him, but he always waited, put it off, and said that he would do it later. But now it was too late. The last time that the tom had spoken to her was when she sneaked out of the camp that night and he followed her. That was the one time that he tried to ask her the question he had always been longing to ask, but he never got an answer. Now he never would, when that had been his wish for a good ten or fifteen moons.

"Shortstare! SHORTSTARE!" A familiar voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to jump out of his nest in fright, messing it up as he did so. When he saw that it was just his almost-friend Raggedpelt, his fears quickly diminished.

"Sorry." He mumbled in reply, standing up and giving himself a quick cleaning.

Raggedpelt was another cat who he had grown up with, and although they used to despise each other, it seemed like this rough time was allowing them to bond only because of what they had in common.

"Wanna share a squirrel? I just got back from a hunting patrol, so it's nice and warm." Raggedpelt meowed back, pawing at a squirrel by his paws.

"Sure." Shortstare responded, not wasting his words. He didn't feel up to a conversation with anyone at the moment, but sharing some fresh kill wouldn't hurt him.

Raggedpelt smiled and pushed the squirrel over to him, coming over to sit down. They ate in silence for only a few moments before Raggedpelt spoke.

"Thinking about Quailstar?" He questioned Shortstare in mumbles through the food in his mouth. As much as Shortstare wanted to say that he wasn't, it would be obvious that he was lying.

"I guess." He mumbled back after a while.

"It's weird without her here, isn't it?" Raggedpelt meowed sadly.

"Yeah. I guess it still hasn't really hit me that she's never going to be back." Shortstare sighed, shaking his head. It had been two full moons and the thought of Quailstar still wasn't leaving his mind.

"Well, we're living a new life now. A better one, too. Even though she may be gone, Brindlestar is making a great leader and providing us a happier life than Quailstar ever would." Raggedpelt replied. He had never been as close to Quailstar as Shortstare had.

"It's just… That last night I talked to her as I followed her out of camp – I really think that I might have been about to convince her to be herself again and not this evil clone that she has been using to cover her true personality up." Shortstare meowed in disappointment. He thought that he could have actually done it. Maybe if she was still alive today she would have taken his advice.

Before Raggedpelt could reply again or Shortstare could process another thought about his leader, the two cats suddenly heard a voice coming from outside.

"EVERYONE COME OUTSIDE! WE HAVE A VISITOR!"

Who carried that voice was something Shortstare couldn't tell, but he knew that he had no choice whether or not to stay inside. If there was a visitor to the clan, he was going to see who it was, and not one cat would let him do otherwise. Raggedpelt quickly jumped to his feet and ran out of the den in excitement – he always was a fan of new cats making appearances in the clan – but it took Shortstare a few extra seconds to get himself standing and walking again.

As he set paw outside, the ground immediately felt cold on them. It was gloomy, but the rain had stopped pouring and faded to a small drizzle. At first glance, the cat saw nothing but his clanmates sitting in a huge circle around the camp. Then he realized that was where the visitor must be.

"Come on, Shortstare! Come sit with the group and don't be a loner!" A voice meowed into his ear, gesturing him over with its tail. It was too cold! It was too rainy! It was too dark! Couldn't the cat just go inside and meet whoever this newcomer was later? Nope, he couldn't.

So with the angry thoughts swirling in his mind, he reluctantly padded over to where the other cats sat. Brindlestar sat in the middle of the circle, with Yellowdust sitting not far behind him. However, the looks on their faces and all of the other cats' that Shortstare could see in front of him signaled that something was wrong. He could hear murmuring and harsh whispers through the crowd but couldn't make out what anyone was saying. Why did they all look so shocked? He couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

Not until suddenly all eyes flicked to him.

Cats around him quickly stepped away to make a path for him.

Brindlestar and Yellowdust looked over to him in fear, rushing out of the middle to be near the others.

Then, before he knew it, he was alone.

And a few tail-lengths in front of him stood a cat.

A kit.

But not just any kit.

Shortstare looked straight ahead into its eyes.

Onto its matted fur.

Around its long tail.

And what he saw in front of him

was a cat that looked like some cat he knew.

No. It looked _identical_ to some cat he knew.

Then it hit him.

Quailstar.

**Wow, very dramatic ending to this chapter, haha! I'm horrible at dramatic endings, but I tried my best on this one. Trust me, this is juuuuust the beginning; big things are coming soon. Even though it's slow so far, I really hope that you all are enjoying. If so, leave a comment, a review, or anything else to let me know what you think! What do you think Shortstare's reaction will be to this new kit who looks just like Quailstar? I want to hear your thoughts!**

**Until the next chapter,**

**~ Moosie**


	3. Chapter 2 - My Name is Quail

**Hi there to my very small audience! I'm sorry that it's been so long since the last update, but just know I didn't forget about you! I've been getting a lot of great feedback from this story so far and I really appreciate it all. If you ever have any ideas regarding the characters, plot, or anything else don't be afraid to let me know! Also, I've had a few incidents already where guests are trying to comment or review on this story expecting a reply, and I just want to let everyone know that if you are a guest you must make an account in order for me to reply to anything you send me! I always read all of the reviews and comments I get, though, so don't worry. **

**With that said, let's get on to chapter 2! Enjoy!**

Chapter Two – My Name is Quail.

Some eyes were fixed on Shortstare. Others were fixed on the kit. In either case, there wasn't one pair of eyes fixed on anything else. All of the surroundings immediately grew silent as the two cats sat and stared, as if that were their only way of communication. No cat knew what thoughts were running through the young cat and Shortstare's mind except for them.

Right as Shortstare noticed her in the clearing he wished he had not. The only thing that the other cats all knew was how much she resembled Quailstar and because they all had memories of her and Shortstare's extremely close friendship, they moved out of the way to let him relive those memories. This just gave him a better view of the cat he already had told himself he wouldn't look at. Yet, his eyes wouldn't budge from staring into hers. It was just like looking in Quailstar's when they were both young like this. In the meantime, his thoughts were swirling with questions.

To start, there was absolutely NO way could this be a mere coincidence. It just wasn't possible. Starclan must have had a part in this, but how? Why? Where? When? Who? What? There were too many unanswered questions burning in Shortstare's mind. The other cats were shocked at the sight in front of them, but obviously hadn't thought it through as he already had. This couldn't be possible. It had to be a dream.

But before anyone could move another muscle, have another question created in their mind, or even say a word to the kit, she spoke as if on cue. Her eyes didn't leave Shortstare's as she did so.

What she meowed seemed so simple as well, but the four words that escaped her tiny mouth meant more than she would ever imagine.

"My name is Quail."

It instantly caused a reaction by everyone. It was one thing for this cat to look identical to Quailstar, but to call herself Quail made the situation even worse. Multiple gasps and whispers could be heard breaking out through the crowd, yet Shortstare made no sound at all.

In fact, Shortstare was too overwhelmed at this point to do much of anything but sit there in complete shock. He wished he hadn't heard those words. He wished he hadn't seen her in the first place. This was miniature Quailstar. That thought on its own sent shivers down his spine and butterflies in his stomach. But it was the truth that was too much for the cat to take in. What was he supposed to do about it, though? Was Quailstar looking at him from Starclan right now with an amused expression on her face as she waited for him to do something? Knowing her, she would do something along those lines. And he knew that he couldn't sit there and continue staring. He knew better than to be that rude, so he attempted what he could.

"Quail."

That was all he got out, and it was a murmur more than anything else. It wasn't difficult to hear, however, because the silence hadn't stopped. A smile began to form on the kit's face as he spoke her name, and it almost made him flinch and look away because of how much it resembled Quailstar's. This wasn't a funny dream. He needed to get out of it as soon as possible.

"And what is your name?" Quail suddenly questioned.

Shortstare almost jumped in shock once more, even though he had no need to. It was a simple question. Why was he treating it like this? Well, he knew the answer to that. This cat was not normal. That was why.

"Shortstare." He finally let out, fortunately in more of a meow rather than a murmur this time.

Quail just nodded. She was still looking at him, but now with more of an interested and puzzled expression on her face. Shortstare could tell that she was inspecting him. He almost felt nervous, but had to constantly remind himself that this was a kit that he was talking to and not a leader. Why were his nerves getting to him?

Suddenly Brindlestar stepped between the two to break up the never-ending staring competition. In a way, Shortstare felt relieved for this. He wasn't staring at the cat anymore, but instead had a nice view of Brindlestar's back. Because he wasn't too interested in looking at that strange sight, he looked away and stepped back into the crowd where he belonged.

"Quail, what brings you to Thunderclan?" Brindlestar asked in as professional of a way as he could, but it was apparent that he, too, wasn't expecting anything like this to happen.

"Nothing." Quail replied bluntly. "It wasn't my choice to come here."

This response made the cats even more confused, as if they weren't already enough. Shortstare stood in the back of the crowd now, still not making a sound but hearing every word of the conversation. Brindlestar was having a hard time reacting.

"Does that mean you'll be leaving or staying?" Brindlestar tried to casually ask, but stumbled over his words a couple of times. He was doing all of the right things, and for that reason Shortstare and the others couldn't blame him.

"You tell me." Quail quickly meowed back. It was as if she had memorized what to say. How could she have so much power, though? Obviously she was making the whole clan feel different emotions like they never had before, and that was a hard thing for any cat to accomplish, much less a kit like herself.

At those words, Brindlestar's expression was priceless. He had no clue what had just happened or how to respond. As he realized this he quickly tried to change it, but there was no doubting that he was having some problems over there.

"I suppose you could stick around here for a while just so you won't have to return out there facing danger in the wild. I'm sure that you could sleep in the nursery and play with the other kits!" Brindlestar finally meowed in return. Shortstare cringed as he said it. He thought that Quail wasn't going to like the idea. Instead, he was surprised when he heard her response.

"Of course. Oh, by the way, thanks for letting me stay. I was nervous that you wouldn't because you all were looking at me weird when I first came in here." She meowed quietly with small smile, and after that instantly ran off in search of the nursery.

By now cats had began to move away from the conversation and head back to their dens, so some cat would hopefully be able to direct her around. Before long, the only two left were Brindlestar and Shortstare, who were looking at each other with unsure and confused expressions on their faces.

"What do you think?" Brindlestar questioned him. It wasn't like a leader to ask one of his fellow warriors for an opinion on a certain subject, but Shortstare would be doing the same thing at this moment if he were Brindlestar.

"It can't be a coincidence." Shortstare replied, shaking his head as he watched the kit in the distance.

"I agree, Shortstare. It can't be. I think it's a sign from Starclan." Brindlestar agreed, just as confused as Shortstare but trying to bring up possibilities. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her." He added with a sigh.

"I guess we'll just have to see." Shortstare replied.

But little did he know, they were about to have to do much more than just seeing.

**That concludes chapter 2! As always, let me know how you are liking it so far and any suggestions you have! By the way, starting next chapter, I will be writing in Quail's point of view instead of Shortstare's, because this story **_**is**_** about her. Other than that, I don't have much else to say. Thank you all for your support and for reading this whole thing! I'll try to update very soon!**

**~ Moosie**


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